The computer has evolved to have a pervasive presence in the present culture. This is due, at least in part, to the availability of more efficient, reliable and cost-effective computers. An additional evolution has occurred with respect to the ability to network computers together such that resources such as, but not limited to, information, data, email, services, tools and software, can be made available to, and passed between, a number of users regardless of the geographic location or platform of the users. Of course, the networks may be further linked to other networks thereby providing even broader capabilities.
The Internet is a well-known collection of such networks (e.g., public and private data communication and multimedia networks) that have been linked using common protocols to form a world wide network of networks. The World Wide Web (hereinafter the “Web”) was created in the late 20th Century, and is comprised of many Internet sites (computers connected to the Internet) having hypertext documents or “Web pages” that can be accessed by users via a “browser” program. When viewed via a browser, a Web page typically displays text and color graphics, and can play sound, animation, and video clips. Web pages, written in Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), contain hypertext links (usually highlighted keywords) that provide access to other Web pages, is even those on other Internet sites. When a user selects a particular hypertext link, the Web browser reads and interprets the address, called a Uniform Resource Locator (“URL”) associated with the link and then connects the user's computer with the Internet site (computer) at that address. A URL gives the type of resource being accessed and optionally the path of the file sought. For example: resource://host.domain/path/filename, wherein the resource can be “file”, “http”, “gopher”, “WAIS”, “news”, or “telnet”.
One major attraction of the Web from a user perspective has historically been its ease of use, especially for the novice computer user. With a click of the mouse, even a novice had the ability to cruise this information highway. Using any of the available search engines and a universal client tool known as a browser, one can easily access a wide variety of information sources. The Web, and the growing number of users, was quickly recognized as a potential market for entrepreneurs. The Web has subsequently become a significant outlet for businesses offering information and services to potential customers.
Frequently, a business sets up a home page on the Web. The home page constitutes an electronically-addressable location that may be used for promoting and advertising business, among other purposes. Potential electronic customers use Web browsers to access the information offered on those Web sites. However, computer technology, related to both hardware and software, has revolutionized the way business is conducted and expanded the use of the Web. While business was once conducted in large part based on confidence in the individual or company selling a service or a product, the speed with which information may be accessed has created a marketplace which is increasingly driven by availability of information. This is evidenced, in part, by the burgeoning volume of so-called “E-commerce”.
“E-commerce” comprises Internet based business transactions. This type of transaction is generally characterized by the lack personal contact between the parties to a transaction. Consequently, business is conducted between the “on-line personae” of the parties to a transaction, thus creating a virtual marketplace. In the virtual marketplace, availability of information and ease of access to that information becomes paramount. For example, a consumer shopping for a wristwatch may obtain information regarding a number of watches from a number of manufacturers. Once the consumer has selected a particular model of watch, the consumer may research retail sources for the watch, critically assessing information such as availability and price. Typically, if a source does not provide this information, the consumer will merely eliminate the source, and proceed to a different source. Moreover, if the information is presented in a Web site which is difficult to navigate or which is frequently unavailable, the consumer is likely to become frustrated and proceed to a different source. Once the consumer has placed an order, there remains a need for timely information. The consumer frequently desires to know when to expect that the product will be received. Thus, providing the consumer with timely information in a reliable and easy to use interface is critical to competing in the virtual marketplace.
Of course, to conduct business on the Web, both parties must be uniquely identified. One example of creating this unique relationship is available at http://interactive.wsj.com/home.html, where the Wall Street Journal provides a “personalized journal” to each user. In order to open an account, the user typically has to complete a form electronically, providing a user name, a password, an electronic-mail (“e-mail”) address, etc. The latter is often used by the Web site to send back information not provided on the Web site itself to the user. In the case of the Wall Street Journal site, the user must open an account, and then create Personal Journal setting which creates customized news folders.
Because of the unique expertise required to properly maintain a Web site which is up-to-date and easy to use, many business enterprises opt to have their Web site hosted by other entities. Under this type of hosted approach (normally referred to as an Application Service Provider (ASP) approach), the entire contents of a business' Web site is maintained at the ASP location. When a business wishes to make data, such as customer account information, available to its customers, this data is also maintained at the ASP location. The hosting of a Web site, however, becomes increasingly expensive as the data storage requirements increase. Additionally, because the ASP provides services to a number of business enterprises, and each business enterprise and customer relationship must be uniquely identified and tracked as described above, system complexity increases for each additional Web site hosted. Furthermore, it becomes increasingly likely that the data hosted by the ASP will not match the data on the business enterprise's database, either due to update errors or as a result of a time difference between updates of the ASP databases and information requests. Of course, even routine maintenance of the ASP database presents additional difficulties. It would be beneficial, therefore, to have a system which does not require maintenance of undesired data at the ASP server. It would be further beneficial if the system allowed for access to data from the business enterprise's database on a real-time basis.
An alternative ASP approach to hosting redundant databases site is to maintain the business' data in a single database at the ASP site. This alternative, while addressing some of the shortcomings of redundant databases, has at least two major shortcomings. First, access to the data by the business' employees constrained by the bandwidth available between the business and the ASP. Therefore, access to the database can be a slow, tedious process. Alternatively, a larger bandwidth connectivity requires significant outlay in capital investment and normally results in wasted capacity over a given period of time. A second shortcoming is that the business loses control of mission sensitive data. Because the data is housed outside the four walls of the business, there is an increased chance of corruption or compromise. Thus, business risk is increased.
As applied to the make-to-order (MTO), make to stock (MTS), engineer to order (ETO), assemble to order (ATO) or mixed mode manufacturing industry, the virtual marketplace presents a number of additional challenges. Providing a customer with an estimated delivery date is one such challenge. Depending on the product, there may be no standard delivery date because each product must be specially manufactured, and may include unique manufacturing steps. Thus, the time required to manufacture, engineer or assemble a product will depend on a number of factors. Some of these factors may include, for example, the availability of a base unit, availability of special components, paints or materials, availability of specific processing equipment, the present workload at the factory, etc. All of these factors are subject to change on a day-by-day, or even an hour by hour, basis. Problems may be further compounded by the desire to maintain minimum inventory of stock on hand to avoid, amongst other things, warehousing costs.
Additional challenges arise when a product must be manufactured according to design criteria unique to a particular customer. In this scenario, technically correct and complete design criteria must be passed to the manufacturer for evaluation of cost impacts. Frequently, a customer will desire a breakdown of the cost for a product on a feature by feature basis to perform a cost analysis. Additionally, the customer may desire an understanding of which features would delay delivery of a product. Obviously, each of these represent another piece or set of information which may be desired by a potential customer, and each may change in a very short span of time. In essence, the information desired by a potential customer comprises the information used by the manufacturing company in doing enterprise resource planning (ERP).
ERP software, such as that known as MADE2MANAGE® software offered by MADE2MANAGE Systems, Inc., has been a significant advance for businesses. Prior to ERP software, a business would generally use different software applications to automate different functional departments of a business. For example, accounting, order entry, manufacturing, inventory and shipping departments would each use their own software systems. While these individual departments can achieve improved operational efficiency through software, the business as a whole would not realize the potential afforded by information technology because the individual software applications may not smoothly interface with each other, and there could be significant duplication of data across the individual systems.
With ERP software, all of the different functional applications for a business may share a common database or databases, so all data is entered only once. Moreover, there is a seamless integration of data between disparate applications, so data generated by one application can be immediately used by any other application. Due to the use of a comprehensive database, ERP systems permit enhanced analysis of a business' data. Storage and maintenance of a duplicate ERP databases, however, may be relatively expensive, and errors between databases can create dissatisfied customers and lost business.
Because ERP systems provide such comprehensive access to a business' data, they frequently suffer from the additional shortcoming of having an end user interface that is difficult to learn. Generally, nearly every person in every operational department uses the ERP system, even though each user only accesses a small portion of the data in the entire ERP system. This tends to make ERP user interfaces inherently complicated, particularly for end users that need to access information outside of the end user's normal area of expertise. For example, while a sales person may become proficient in accessing quotation or sales order information in an ERP system, if customer asks the sales person a question about the shipment or invoice for a particular order, the ERP user interface will usually make it difficult for the sales person find the information, because the user interface for shippers and invoices is likely to be unfamiliar to the sales person. Obviously, this problem is would be exacerbated if the customer of the business were to attempt to retrieve information as to the customer's account or order without assistance from the sales person.
There exist a number of approaches for addressing some of the above problems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,416, Anand et al., discloses a method of creating a tabular data stream format. The method and tabular data of Anand et al. uses the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) as an application layer protocol layered on top of Hypertext Transport Protocol (HTTP) so that business automation objects may be accessed and methods invoked over the Internet through Web Servers. In use of the system, Anand et al. contemplates retrieval of information from a server based on a query generated from a client computer. Creating a system according to Anand et al., however, requires a significant level of technical support and requires a significant capital investment in hardware and programming. Additionally, Anand et al. does not address the challenges present in a manufacturing environment. Furthermore, Anand et al. does not disclose how to present the information in a manner which is easy to understand and easy to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,796, Cianfrocca et al., discloses a secure middleware and server control system for querying through a network firewall. According to Cianfrocca et al., a communication server receives queries from a user and transmits replies to the user. The request is then passed through a firewall to application servers with database connections. Cianfrocca et al. claims that this structure is particularly adapted to large application systems in which data needed for appropriate response to user inquiry is located in remote sites, such as for a bank loan Web site application which of accesses student loan information stored on a plurality of database servers. Cianfrocca et al. thus discloses the use of a first server as a means for a user obtaining information resident on a second server in a commercial setting. Cianfrocca et al. does not, however, address the challenges present in a manufacturing environment. Furthermore, Cianfrocca et al. does not disclose how to present the information in a manner which is easy to understand and easy to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,047,264, Fisher et al., discloses a method for automatic notification of customers as to the status of their orders and shipments. The system of Fisher et al. periodically interrogates information systems to obtain status of orders and shipments. When a change in status is detected, a message is generated, such as by email, to notify the customer of the change in status. Fisher et al. thus discloses an automatic system for providing status to a customer concerning orders and shipments by periodically polling remote systems. Fisher et al. does not, however, address the challenges present in a manufacturing environment, such as calling for complex database manipulations across foreign systems. Furthermore, Fisher et al. does not disclose how to present the information in a manner which in easy to understand and easy to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,684, Pearson, discloses a system for interfacing client programs to legacy databases in financial institution computer systems. The system of Pearson stores in local memory certain information concerning a user's account in a remote legacy system. When queried by the user over the Internet, the system provides data to the user either from the local memory or by accessing the legacy system in real time. Pearson thus discloses real time reporting of customer account status in response to queries from a user, where user account information is obtained by accessing a remote database in response to a query over the Internet. Pearson does not, however, address the challenges present in a manufacturing environment. Furthermore, Pearson does not disclose how to present the information in a manner which is easy to understand and easy to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,551, to Doyle et al., discloses a computer-based system for placing orders, tracking shipment, and invoicing, including orders placed with multiple suppliers. Doyle et al. discloses that the order may be filled internally (by the system owner) or by external suppliers. According to the system of Doyle et al., the master item catalog is updated with information received from the suppliers. Prices are then taken from the database, and vendors are selected by the user. The system of Doyle et al. is thus limited to a relatively small set of information from various vendors including pricing data in the master item catalog. Doyle et al. does not, however, address the challenges present in a manufacturing environment. Furthermore, Doyle et al. does not disclose how to present the information in a manner which is easy to understand and easy to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,040, to Dworkin, discloses a system that allows the user to shop for products using product specifications. The user can also select a supplier for a particular item to be purchased. In support of the system, a relational database is provided. The relational database is a collection of catalog information from various vendors. The system of Dworkin thus permits a user to procure products from a choice of multiple suppliers utilizing a relational database of multiple supplier information. Dworkin does not, however, address the challenges present in a manufacturing environment. For example, Dworkin does not disclose a user submitting product specifications to a manufacturer in order to obtain information. Furthermore, Dworkin does not disclose how to present the information in a manner which is easy to understand and easy to use.
As is evident from these systems, what is needed, therefore, is a transaction and statusing system which may be used in a virtual marketplace for a manufacturing concern. Advantageously, the system should allow a customer to submit design criteria for a make-to-order product. The system should also provide an easy to use and easy to understand interface so that a user may automatically retrieve information concerning accounts and orders. The system should not require extensive technical support at the manufacturing company location. The system should not require excessive investment in hardware and software. It is further desired that the system not duplicate resources required for ERP.